Is Your Name Important?
- page 9

For starters, I will reveal that I am an African-American female with a very common anglicized first and last name. I am also friendly with a small handful of nurse managers, staff development... Read More

The responses on this thread make me sick. I'm AA w/ kids that have neutral names but folks who complain about the uniqueness of a name are those who believe in conformity. We were made to be individuals! Ridiculous!

I would argue that the African-American parents who give their children overtly "ethnic" names like Quandella or Lakeesha ARE the one's who are being conformist.

There's not a single AA culture. Rather, there are multiple AA subcultures in the US.

I'm an AA with a plain, 'mainstream'-sounding name (think of something similar to Carrie, Kelly or Lindsay). Since my name is not overtly black-sounding, would you say that it does not conform to a so-called AA culture?

There's not a single AA culture. Rather, there are multiple AA subcultures in the US.

I'm an AA with a plain, 'mainstream'-sounding name (think of something similar to Carrie, Kelly or Lindsay). Since my name is not overtly black-sounding, would you say that it does not conform to a so-called AA culture?

Now I'm confused, Commuter. Aren't we saying the same thing? That, for example, your parents were being actually being non-conformist by giving you a relatively neutral name, as opposed to "conforming" to the AA norm of a distinctly "black" name?

There's not a single AA culture. Rather, there are multiple AA subcultures in the US.

I'm an AA with a plain, 'mainstream'-sounding name (think of something similar to Carrie, Kelly or Lindsay). Since my name is not overtly black-sounding, would you say that it does not conform to a so-called AA culture?

I guess my point is that to many white people, those names are not mainstream, white names. They immediately stand out as ethnic minority. Perception. The perception is that they conform to AA culture because they are AA sounding names.